Introduction Disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth is one of the deterring factors to skilled childbirth utilization, especially in low and middle-income countries. Objective The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of women’s disrespect and abuse during childbirth in public health facilities in Arba Minch town, south Ethiopia. Methods Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed at all public health institutions in Arba Minch town, south Ethiopia. A systematic random sampling method was used to include 281 women who had given birth at public health institutions between January 01 and February 28, 2017. Data were collected through face to face interview by four data collectors and they were supervised by the principal investigator during the entire period of data collection. A semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. Epi info version 7.1.2.0 and SPSS version 24 were used to enter and analyze the data, respectively. Results The overall prevalence of non-respectful care was 98.9%. The women’s right to information and informed consent was the most frequently violated right with a prevalence of 92.5% (95% CI: 90.9, 94.1) followed by non-dignified care (36.7, 95% CI: 34.9, 38.5), physical abuse (29.5%, 95% CI: 24.2, 34.8), discrimination (18.1%, 95% CI: 13.6, 22.6), non-confidential care (17.1%, 95% CI: 12.7, 21.5) and abandonment of care (4.3%, 95% CI: 3.1, 5.5). Rural residence, giving birth in the hospital, having no or low educational status and giving birth by cesarean route were factors significantly associated with specific women’s rights violations. Conclusions and recommendations The prevalence of women’s disrespect and abuse during childbirth at the health care facilities in this study area is very high. Therefore, health managers need to work hard to tackle the problem.

Introduction Neonatal hypothermia is one of the main underlying factors associated with neonatal deaths. Objective The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with neonatal hypothermia on admission to neonatal intensive care units in Southwest Ethiopia. Methods Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed between February to September 2017 at intensive care units of Arba Minch and Jinka General Hospitals. All neonates admitted to the two neonatal intensive care units during the study period were included in the study. Data were collected by four nurses who were working in the units of the hospitals through semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire and checklist. Multi-variable logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the dependent and independent variables using odds ratio with a confidence interval of 95% and a p-value of 0.05. Results The prevalence of neonatal hypothermia on admission to the neonatal intensive care units in this study area was 50.3%. Admission weight below 2500 gm. (AOR = 3.61, 95% CI: 2.10, 6.18), delay in initiation of breastfeeding (AOR = 2.42, 95% CI: 1.45, 4.02), early bathing (AOR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.23, 5.63), admissions during cold season (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.84), and presence of obstetrical complication(s) during pregnancy/labor (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.07, 5.66) were factors significantly associated with hypothermia on admission to the neonatal intensive care units. Conclusions The prevalence of neonatal hypothermia on admission to the intensive care units was high. There is a need to create awareness among the community members about the dangers of early bathing and late initiation of breastfeeding. It is also important to give attention to the newborns of mothers with obstetric complications, low-birth-weight babies and babies delivered during the cold season.

Background Fear of childbirth is one of the life challenges the women encounter during pregnancy. It is an important source of distress for the women and their families and also increases the odds of obstetric complications during childbirth. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of fear of childbirth and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at public health facilities in Arba Minch town, southern Ethiopia. Methods Institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out among pregnant women who attended antenatal care at public health facilities in Arba Minch from November 1st − 30th 2019. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to include the participants. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview by using a structured and pretested questionnaire. Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire was used to score fear of childbirth. Epi Data version 3.1 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25.0 software were used for data management. Descriptive and analytic analyses were done and statistical significance was declared at a p-value < 0.05 and 95% confidence level in multivariable analysis. Results A total of 387 pregnant women have participated in this study. Forty (10.3%) of the pregnant women had a low degree fear, 154(39.8%) had a moderate degree fear, 98(25.3%) had a high degree fear, and 95(24.5%) had severe degree fear of childbirth. Unplanned pregnancy (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.12, 4.74), current pregnancy-related complications (AOR = 6.24, 95% CI: 2.72, 14.29), and poor social support (AOR = 1.93, 95%CI: 1.01, 3.68) were factors significantly associated with severe degree fear of childbirth. Conclusions Almost three-fourth of the pregnant women in this study area had moderate to severe degree fear of childbirth. Tailoring counseling during antenatal care visits is needed to address those women who are at a high risk of considerable childbirth fear and its health consequences.

21Introduction: Disrespect and abuse during childbirth is the main deterring factor to skilled birth 22 utilization as compared to other more commonly known factors such as financial and physical 23 inaccessibility. 24 Objective: To assess the occurrence of women's disrespect and abuse during childbirth in public health 25 facilities in Arba Minch town, south Ethiopia. 26 Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study design was employed at all public health institutions in 27 Arba Minch town, south Ethiopia. Systematic sampling method was used to include 281 women who had 28 given birth at public health institutions between January 01 and February 28, 2017. Data were collected 29 by face to face interview by four midwife tutors and supervised by the principal investigator on daily 30 bases. Semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect data. Epi info version 7.1.2.0 and SPSS 31 version 24 were used to enter and analyze the data respectively. 32 Results: A total of 281 women were participated in this study. The overall prevalence of non-respectful 33 care was 98.9%. The women's right to information and informed consent was the most frequently 34 violated right with a prevalence of 92.5% (95% CI: 90.9, 94.1) followed by non-dignified care (36.7, 95% 35 CI: 34.9, 38.5), physical abuse (29.5%, 95% CI: 24.2, 34.8), discrimination (18.1%, 95% CI: 13.6, 22.6), 36non-confidential care (17.1%, 95% CI: 12.7, 21.5) and abandonment of care (4.3%, 95% CI: 3.1, 5.5). 37However, there is no woman who had been kept in detention in the health facilities. Being rural resident, 38giving birth in hospital, having no or low educational status and giving birth by cesarean route were 39 factors which were significantly associated with specific women's rights violations.3 40 Conclusions and recommendations:The status of non-respectful and abusive care in the health 41 care facilities in this study area is unacceptably high and needs serious attention by the health managers to 42 tackle the problem. 43

Background Companionship during delivery is an important feature of compassionate and respectful maternity care. It has a positive impact on delivery and birth outcomes. In low resource countries like Ethiopia lack of companionship discourages women from accessing facilitybased delivery care. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the utilization of companionship during delivery and associated factors. Methods Health facility-based cross-sectional study design was done from October to November 2019. Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect the data from 418 study participants. The data were entered with Epi data version 4.4 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was done. Statistical significance was declared at P-values < 0.05 with a 95% confidence level. Results The finding of the study showed that only 13.8% of mothers utilize companionship during delivery. Variables such as having a desire to have companionship during delivery in the health facilities (AOR = 5.17, CI 95% 2.63, 10.16), having complication during the labor and delivery (AOR = 3.48, CI 95%, 1.81, 6.70), and being primipara (AOR = 2.05, CI 95% 1.09, 3.87) were the independent factors associated with companionship utilization. Conclusions The finding of the study showed that the utilization of companionship during delivery was low. Permitting women to have a companion of choice during labor and childbirth can be a cost-effective intervention to improve the quality of maternity care, facing complications